Remittances hit $6.1B in Q1

PERSONAL remittances from overseas Filipinos (OFs) have surged to $2.1 billion in March, 6.9 percent higher than a year ago, the central bank said Thursday.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said that the March remittances were even higher than the six percent growth posted in February.

For the first quarter of this year, remittances grew to $6.1 billion, up by 6.6 percent relative to the level recorded in the same period a year ago, he added.

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"The steady increase in personal remittances during the first three months of the year was driven by strong growth in remittance flows from both land-based workers with long-term contracts (4.5 percent) and sea-based and land-based workers with short-term contracts (10.9 percent)," Tetangco said.

Similarly, cash remittances from OFs coursed through banks increased robustly by 6.5 percent year-on-year to $1.9 billion in March. On a cumulative basis, cash remittances for the first quarter of the year rose to $5.5 billion, 6.0 percent higher than the level posted in the comparable period last year.

The major sources of cash remittances were the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong. (SDR/Sunnex)

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